Community Work

In the next entries, I’ll share with you some interesting things that I’ve learnt in my lessons of Social Services in TUAS. This entry is aimed to speak about Community Work, a very useful and important topic to understand if you are interested in projects and activities related with social services.

Community Work is a way to practice social services whose main goal is to improve individual condition through improving community conditions. Community Work is according with the idea that the behaviour and the situation of a person depends not only of his biology, genetic and personality; it depends specially of his environment and community. So, Community Work is focussed in working with communities to improve their situation.

How do they get it? The first step is to screen the main problem of the community. Then, the important thing is to think about how we can solve this problem, what does the community need; and then, give the people of the community tools to change their environment. Citizens must be active people in this process. They are the main piece to change their environment.

So, community social workers and volunteers help people giving them the tools that are necessary and helping them to improve their skills, to make their networks stronger, and to teach them how they can change their community situation. The point of change of the environment is in each one that takes part in it. It is easy but difficult at the same time!